What Japanese Soccer Teaches Us About Innovation: Start with Joy and Pleasure

To develop a sport: 1. Encourage active participation across society. 2. Start with joy and pleasure. 3. Plan and build for the long term—there is no substitute for time. 4. Keep learning from and exchanging ideas with the world’s best, including actively helping players compete abroad. 5. Integrate the sport with your own country’s culture and distinctive qualities. The same applies to governments building an environment for innovation and entrepreneurship. We encourage failure, do not fear it, and welcome challenges. We must exchange ideas with the world’s best, develop innovation with our own cultural character, and plan with a longer perspective and horizon. ---- Japanese soccer: start with joy and pleasure In Group E at the Qatar World Cup, 24th-ranked Japan defeated four-time World Cup champion Germany 2–1. Eight days later, it came from behind to beat Spain 2–1. For a long time, baseball was Japan’s “national sport.” Soccer drew level only as its following grew. Japan’s World Cup victories may have something to do with the distinctive soccer culture behind the team. A century of Japanese soccer In September 1921, following Jigoro Kano’s call, the Dai-Nippon Shukyu Kyokai, predecessor of the Japan Football Association (JFA), was established. Under its leadership, soccer associations in nine regions and leagues in all 47 prefectures gradually developed within a coordinated, systematic environment. At the time, soccer was also called “association football” in Japan, written 阿式蹴球. In November 1921, these organizations held the first national association football championship. Japan’s truly modern professional soccer league was established only in 1993. Through a competition registration system, players are organized by age. Each must progress through prefectural leagues, national regional leagues, regional-league championship finals, and the amateur Japan Football League (JFL) before becoming a professional. Under this selection system from the ground up, Japan’s national team improved rapidly. From 1998 onward, it repeatedly reached the 32-team World Cup finals, advancing to the last 16 in 2002, 2010, 2018, and 2022. It also defeated Spain—the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European champion—in its opening match at the 2012 London Olympics. These achievements reflect not only a professional development pathway but also the ambition to meet global standards. Europe is the center of world soccer. The JFA therefore opened a dedicated office in Düsseldorf, Germany, where many national-team players compete, and stationed staff there to help young Japanese players abroad. Ritsu Doan, who scored twice in this group stage, had played for Groningen and PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Arminia Bielefeld in Germany’s second division, and Freiburg in the Bundesliga. Takuma Asano, who scored once, had played for Arsenal in England and Stuttgart, Hannover, and Bochum in Germany. Wataru Endo, Japan’s proud “duel king,” also had overseas experience, playing for Sint-Truiden in Belgium and Stuttgart in Germany. Captain Maya Yoshida had played for VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands, Southampton in England, Sampdoria in Italy, and Schalke in Germany. It is easy to see that they had all competed at the sharp end of the Bundesliga. That experience helped them discover their strengths, improve their individual competitive capabilities, and become the national team’s core. Competing intensely at the world’s highest level allows players to develop rapidly. Japan’s national-team coaches travel to Europe several times a year for in-depth discussions with players, preparing them to become mainstays of the national side. The people’s sport The renowned Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich once said, “Football is the ballet of the masses.” This captures both its elegance and its place among ordinary people. In 1972, at a meeting of its Health and Physical Education Council, the Japanese government proposed a basic plan for promoting sport. It emphasized appropriate national sporting goals and helping people develop good exercise habits. To develop soccer, the government built many indoor and outdoor sports grounds, supported the formation of youth teams, and proposed making soccer something people could participate in throughout their lives—by playing, watching, or supporting it. Under the idea of “Football For All,” the JFA works to let anyone enjoy soccer anytime, anywhere, and have a meaningful encounter with the game. To increase and sustain participation, it encourages connections among soccer families and clubs, continuously bringing the game into schools, homes, communities, women’s activities, recreation, and other settings. Especially noteworthy are elementary-school physical education support workshops and instructor-training sessions. Since 2012, the JFA has sent workshop lecturers and support coaches to elementary schools and universities training elementary teachers in each prefecture. It offers relevant university courses and gives every participant a free copy of a new soccer-coaching textbook. Compared with soccer powers in Europe and South America, Japan has a sporting culture of soccer club activities unique to the country, an important support for the game’s future there. Yet, as head coach Hajime Moriyasu says, “We cannot expect people to develop through sport alone. Activities beyond athletic training are the key to improving competitive results.” The underlying idea is to enjoy soccer, rather than wear down young players’ enthusiasm through endless mechanical, tedious professional drills. Start with joy and pleasure Jere Longman once said: “In soccer, people often say a country’s distinctive style of play bears the imprint of its social culture and political character. Germans are therefore invariably described as resourceful and methodical, while Brazilians are said to dance with the ball to the samba rhythms of carnival.” What, then, is Japan’s style? Does it reflect the social culture behind the team? / Soccer club activities are a sporting culture unique to Japan. / One striking quality of Japan’s team is that it “cherishes everything connected with the game.” That means valuing the people, things, environment, ideas, and values surrounding soccer. From these come inspiration and hope, followed by communication and interaction through sport and the well-rounded development of players. September 22, 2022: Japanese players prepare for an international friendly in Düsseldorf, Germany. This Qatar World Cup also reveals a different mindset and determination in Japan’s team. Head coach Moriyasu repeatedly emphasizes: “Do not show excessive deference to the world’s strongest teams. Compete with them as equals.” He also says: “There is no happier opportunity than playing World Cup champions such as Germany and Spain.” Of Japan’s 26 players at this World Cup, 19 were first-time selections. Young players around 20, such as Doan, had ample opportunity to experience and understand how the world’s strongest teams play. This could improve the whole side’s defending and ability to compete, bringing a qualitative transformation. Japan remained resilient and tenacious in the last half-hour against Germany. Beyond substitutions, this reflected the team’s vision and values. In March 2015, the JFA established its values, making joy and pleasure the starting point for sport and putting players first. With “athletes first” and “players first” as principles, it seeks fairness and justice with openness and honesty. It asks players to make fairness their foundation and respect their core value, to keep confronting failure and difficulty, and to build a team that is both creative and collaborative. Guided by these values, players can remain optimistic and forward-looking regardless of the score at a particular moment. Professionals can also feel the care and support of coaches, referees, family, friends, and organizations across society. Such values help them stay alert yet responsive on the pitch, balancing tension and relaxation to play excellent soccer. Dave Checketts once said, “Soccer has an aura and presence unlike any other sport in the world.” Simon Kuper said: “It seems soccer creates this relationship: people gather in pubs and living rooms, and suddenly the whole country cares about the same match.” While enjoying the World Cup, learn about Japan’s soccer culture, community atmosphere, and spirit, and help sustain the development of Asian soccer. #看世界2022年25期 (Look at the World, issue 25, 2022, descriptive title)